Arkive’s Week in Review — Wildlife NewsICYMI: Arkive has compiled some of the biggest and most interesting headlines from this week. Article originally published on Friday, Mar 6, 2015

As forests burn, conservationists launch global wildlife rescue

Scarlet macaw landing

Extreme events and long-term warming caused by climate change compound the existing threats to wildlife like habitat loss and degradation. Using small aircraft to detect and map threats like forest fires and illegal clearing can significantly reduce the incidence of severely damaging forest fires. One of many affected forests is that of Guatemala, which is home to the scarlet macaw and the ocellated turkey.

Four large species of snake added to restricted import list

Reticulated python juvenile coiled around sapling

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared that the Beni anaconda, green anaconda, DeSchaunsee’s anaconda, and the reticulated python are “injurious” under the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act prohibits the export, import, buying, selling or acquisition of wildlife and plant species named on the list.

Back from the brink of extinction: hunting for the world’s rarest frog

Corroboree frog crawling on moss

A research team found only four coroboree frogs within the southern part of New South Wales, its entire range. Recently, experts from Melbourne Zoo and Taronga Zoo along with NSW wildlife officials released 80 frogs into a fungus-free area of New South Wales within Kosciuszko National Park.

Researchers treated red-legged salamanders with either corticosterone, a stress hormone, or oil. They then exposed them to the chytrid fungus. Researchers found that “stressed” salamanders had a greater abundance of the chytrid fungus.

Saturday was International Red Panda Day, a day designed to raise awareness about the plight of the red panda as well as a chance to raise funds to support the operation of a new community conservation centre in Nepal. For those of you unfamiliar with this curious and charismatic creature, fear not, as the ARKive team have rustled up their favourite red panda facts to give you the lowdown.

Quick Facts

The red panda is the original panda, having been discovered 48 years before the giant panda.

Red pandas are found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal.

There are two subspecies of red panda; Ailurus fulgens styani and the smaller, lighter Ailurus fulgens fulgens.

Red pandas produce a number of vocalisations, the strangest of which is a ‘quack-snort’.

Is it a cat, is it a bear, is it a fox..?

Actually, the red panda is thought to be most closely related to species in the racoon family. The classification of the red panda has caused continued controversy since it was first described in 1825. While its scientific name means ‘fire-coloured cat’, and it shares similarities with both bears and racoons, today it is placed with the racoons but in its own separate subfamily, the Ailurinae. Interestingly, the Chinese name for the red panda is “hunho”, which translates into English as “firefox”, hence the famous logo of Mozilla’s web browser.

Dexterous Digits

Like the giant panda, red pandas posses a modified wrist bone that acts as a sixth digit or thumb which is used for grabbing bamboo. While technically classified as a carnivore, red pandas actually feed almost exclusively on bamboo, although roots, fruit, eggs and small animals are sometimes eaten too. They have semi-retractable claws, which allow them to be efficient climbers and when not foraging, pandas are usually found in the trees.

Cute Cubs

Red pandas are ready to breed at around 18 months old. After a relatively long gestation period for their body size (roughly 135 days) red pandas usually give birth to two young in a hollow tree. The young, known as cubs, are born blind and helpless, opening their eyes after 18 days.

A species under threat

Sadly, red pandas are a species under threat, currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The most serious threat they face is habitat loss, as throughout their range forests have been cleared for timber extraction, agriculture and development. Their lustrous coats also make them a target for hunters, and hats made from their pelts were traditionally given to newlyweds in Yunnan as they were thought to symbolise a happy marriage. In China the species is thought to have undergone a decline of around 40 percent over the last 50 years.

How can you help?

If you would like to get involved International Red Panda Day you can download an activity pack here. Kids can get involved in a whole host of fun red panda themed activities as well as becoming a “Red Panda Ranger”, a special title given to children that help spread the word about red pandas.

China is set to launch its once-a-decade giant panda census in an effort to determine how many individuals of this endangered mammal live in the wild.

The giant panda is universally admired for its appealing markings and seemingly gentle demeanour, and is an international symbol of conservation.

State media reported that around 70 trackers are being trained at the Wanglang Nature Reserve in the south-western province of Sichuan. This area is believed to harbour the largest number of wild pandas in China, and is one of the last six isolated forests where giant pandas remain.

As part of an initial pilot study, the trackers will search for giant panda droppings for ten days, as the animals themselves are so shy and reclusive that they are rarely seen in their fog-shrouded, mountainous, forested habitat. The nationwide study is expected to start at the end of July.

The success of giant panda captive breeding has markedly increased in recent years, thanks to significant advances in managing the health of captive pandas and a greater understanding of the species’ reproductive biology.

Each giant panda is thought to defecate up to 40 times a day, leaving its own trail behind it from which scientists can identify the individual by running a DNA test. The census should not only provide an accurate figure for the panda population, but also determine the average age of the population and how its habitat is changing.

The previous census, in 2001, counted 1,596 wild giant pandas in China, although some scientists have since estimated the number of individuals to be as high as 3,000.